Training center opens at West Broward YMCA

Playing on football fields made him famous. Then working outdoors with athletes became a business for former Miami Dolphin Jeff Dellenbach.

That business now has a home base.

Dellenbach and five supporters opened the Ultimate Sports Institute studio last month as part of the West Broward Family YMCA Center. Dellenbach, a longtime supporter of the Y, began training athletes at Weston Regional Park's sports fields for free in 2001 and in early 2006 established Ultimate Sports. They moved into a vacant space the Y built specifically for a specialized sports training center.

"This is taking what we do to the next level," Dellenbach said.

The institute trains athletes of all ages, either individually or in groups. The area includes weights, a 15-yard artificial turf for running, a small Pilates studio and massage therapy rooms. A room for video assessments is under construction.

Dellenbach said someone in his staff of 12 will evaluate each participant and either suggest a training plan at the institute or with a personal trainer at the YMCA.

The difference?

"We're about giving it a more athletic flair," he said. "We show them why a power clean [a weightlifting maneuver] is related to hitting a baseball."

(FYI, they have hip action in common, Dellenbach said.)

Dellenbach played offensive line with the Dolphins from 1985 to 1994 as part of a 15-year NFL career. Two partners also have NFL ties: Terry Kirby was a running back with the Dolphins and three other teams during his 11-year career; and David Bush was a Dolphins' strength trainer from 2003 to 2005. Corey Hicks, a decathlete at Kentucky State, also is a partner and trainer.

Orthopedic surgeon Alfred A. DeSimone and pediatric surgeon Robert H. Sheinberg, who own the South Florida Institute of Sports Medicine in Weston, are the two other partners. They personally and professionally made donations to help build the $8.5 million YMCA building that opened in 2005 in Weston, as well as volunteer medical advice.

Dellenbach has been affiliated with the West Broward Y since the early 1990s, when it operated out of a storefront on State Road 84 in Davie. He has sponsored a golf tournament to benefit the Y for 15 years and now operates the sports institute as a YMCA subcontractor. Part of the training includes general use of the Y facility, such as the swimming pool and the stationary cycling studio.

"Jeff's involvement with the Y goes all the way back to him being a volunteer youth sports coach and we're delighted he's here," said West Broward Y executive director David Pinsker, who sees the institute as an extension of the group's services. "He deserves it."

Mack Laudon, 51, has been working out for years, but has been training with Dellenbach's group for about a month. He's doing lifting, Swiss balls, medicine balls, and describes himself as "not very coordinated."

He said he's impressed with the way they have taught body positioning.

"I already feel a difference in terms of stability and energy," said Laudon, a fifth-grade teacher at Everglades Elementary in Weston.

"They also do a great job training this," he said, pointing to his head.

Cypress Bay High basketball player Blake Foeman goes to USI twice a week. DeSimone diagnosed Foeman with patellar tendinitis, and they've been working with him.

"I went from where I could barely move to being much more explosive," Foeman said. He also enjoys learning about the mechanics of lifting and movement.

"I'm always learning something," he said.

Looking to help his son and his teammates increase their athleticism, Bruce Greenberg, of Weston, brought the members of a 14-and-under hockey team based at the Pines Ice Arena to trainer David Bush. Now, another son's 16-and-under team also is going to come work out, he said.

Greenberg said he liked that Bush concentrated on balance and core work, rather than weights.

"And I was impressed that he made sure they're doing things right," Greenberg said. "The kids are loving it."

For information, go to www.ultimatesportsinstitute.com or call 954-217-2004.

Nick Sortal can be reached at nsortal@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7906.